Thoughts for the Day

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberias, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

'The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." '

(New Revised Standard Version)

*Picture by Nicola di Maestro Antonio of St John the Baptist.

Thoughts

These famous words from Isaiah, Chapter 40 are found in St Luke's Gospel. They bring all sorts of memories to mind, from Handel's 'Messiah' with the tenor singing the spine tingling opening 'Comfort ye my people', which includes the words 'The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord', that leads into the glorious chorus "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed".

Another memory for me is of a darkened church with robed figures standing against the walls, representing the prophets, and each saying a separate prophecy building into a babble of sound. "Prepare the way of the Lord" was clearly heard. This then led onto a Nativity Play, the narration taken entirely using text from St Matthew's and St Luke's Gospels!

The words above herald the arrival of John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, whose task is to prepare the people for the work of Jesus - to stir their consciences, and turn their minds to the things of God. Perhaps Covid 19 as well as incidents like the horrific death of George Floyd in the USA, have done a similar thing and made us question our thoughts and actions in a way we haven't done for some time. Our task is to continue preparing the way for the Lord, who promised to come again!

Wednesday 24th June, follow up thoughts

Lord Jesus,
You taught Your disciples
that You would return again one day.
Help us to continue Your work
in the places where we live and work
to turn the minds of people,
to the things of God,
and may we never be complacent but
ask Your help in the work you
have given us to do.
Amen.